OREM—Sadie Beardall recorded two goals and two assists for a six-point performance to lead Utah Valley to a 6-1 win over Sacramento State on Wednesday night at UCCU Stadium, extending the Wolverines' regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 40 consecutive matches and their home conference unbeaten streak to 31 matches.
Utah Valley improves to 10-4-3 overall and remains unbeaten in Big West play at 6-0-2, keeping the Wolverines atop the league standings. UVU also pushes its current unbeaten streak to nine games and its win streak to four matches. The win marks the eighth consecutive season that UVU has recorded 10 or more victories and the ninth time in head coach Chris Lemay's 10 seasons that the Wolverines have reached double-digit wins.
Beardall was involved in four of UVU's six goals, finishing with two goals and two assists to bring her season totals to 10 goals, five assists and 25 points. The senior forward has now scored in three straight matches, recording four goals during that stretch.
"I thought a number of players were dangerous this evening," said Lemay. "Sadie had a good night, and I thought Quinn was great all day in the midfield as well. We found a number of chances."
Beardall opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Sam Curtis delivered a corner kick from the left side into the box. Beardall rose above the defense and headed the ball into the net to give the Wolverines an early 1-0 advantage.
Utah Valley doubled its lead in the 30th minute after Nixan Jackson took a throw-in from the right side and found Beardall moving down the right side of the box. Beardall dribbled past her defender and sent a cross to Josie Clawson, who fired a shot past the Sacramento State goalkeeper to put UVU ahead 2-0 heading into halftime.
The Wolverines wasted little time adding to their lead in the second half. Addie Olson carried the ball past midfield and found Tylie Miller, who sent a pass to Beardall at the top of the box. Beardall took a touch inside the penalty area and fired a left-footed shot into the net in the 49th minute to complete her brace and extend UVU's lead to 3-0.
"It's not surprising. We had these expectations for her all season," said Lemay. "I think her movement has gotten better, and her concentration in critical moments has been better. She's put more balls on frame, and she's creating spaces that she occupies at the right times. When you have players like Nixan Jackson, Addie Olson and Kate Booth providing service from the flanks, she's the recipient of good wide play as well."
Utah Valley pushed its advantage to 4-0 in the 55th minute when Miller sent a ball from midfield to Jackson just outside the penalty area. Jackson raced past a defender and the goalkeeper before finishing into the open net.
Jackson helped create another scoring opportunity in the 63rd minute, racing past a defender along the right side to the end line before cutting back to create space. She sent a cross into the box that deflected off a Sacramento State defender and into the net for an own goal, giving the Wolverines a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Wolverines added their sixth goal in the 74th minute after Kate Booth sent a pass to Beardall from just outside the box on the left side. Beardall redirected the ball to Mia Owens in the middle of the penalty area, where Owens fired a shot into the net to extend UVU's lead to 6-0.
Sacramento State got on the scoreboard in the 75th minute when Marely Velazquez Valera found the back of the net to make the final score 6-1.
Utah Valley dominated the match statistically, outshooting Sacramento State 28-4, including a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Wolverines also held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Jackson led UVU with a match-high 10 shots, including four on frame, while Beardall finished with five shots, three on goal and two goals. Nine different Wolverines recorded at least one shot on the night. Madeleine Boucher played 81 minutes in goal for Utah Valley and recorded one save.
The victory extends Utah Valley's regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 40 matches, dating back to Oct. 8, 2022, at Seattle U. The Wolverines have also gone unbeaten in 31 consecutive regular-season conference home matches, with their last home league loss coming against California Baptist on March 11, 2021.
With the regular season winding down, Utah Valley remains atop the Big West standings as the Wolverines look to capture a conference championship in their inaugural season in the league.
"We can only stay focused on one match at a time and just keep stacking three points on top of three points," said Lemay. "We know that we have to show up in these last three matches and play our best game. Anything less and we don't deserve it. I think they're going to be up for it, and we're excited to get on the road and play in a cool stadium in Santa Barbara against a really good team. We'll be prepared for it."
Utah Valley now heads back on the road to continue Big West play, traveling to California to take on UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
